Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator

#Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator software
#Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator code
#Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator series

So far, all of my work with the AxiDraw has been with JavaScript and an experimental tool IвЂ™ve been building, aptly named penplot. In this post, IвЂ™ll try to explain some of my workflow when developing new pen plotter prints, and show some of the tools IвЂ™ve been building to help organize my process. This isnвЂ™t a new concept Vera MolnГЎr, an early pioneer of computer art, was rendering pen plotter prints in the 1960s! Each time these algorithms run, they produce different outputs, allowing for an infinite number of unique prints.

#Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator series

One recent series I developed, Natural Systems, is composed of 4 different algorithms. However, the machine is very well suited to programmatic and algorithmic line art, as it can run for hours at a time and produce incredibly detailed outputs that would be too tedious to illustrate by hand. You can create SVG files in Adobe Illustrator or find SVGs online to print. You donвЂ™t need to be a programmer to use the AxiDraw pen plotter. For convenience, AxiDraw handles most of the mechanical operation for you, providing an Inkscape SVG plugin that accepts paths, lines, shapes, and even fills (through hatching). These formats that specify how the machine should lift, move, and place itself over time. Often, these plotters and mechanical devices are controlled by formats like HP-GL or G-code. рџ–Ё Plotters have been around for a whileВ - if you are just starting off, you might be interested in some of the older but more affordable HP plotters. Unlike a typical printer, a plotter produces prints with a strangely human quality: occasional imperfections arise as the pen catches an edge or momentarily dries up, and the quality of the ink has the subtle texture and emboss that you normally only see in an original drawing. With this, the plotter can be programmed to produce intricate and accurate prints with a pen and paper of your choice.

#Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator software

Software sends commands to the device to raise, reposition, and lower its arm across a 2D surface. For those unaware, a pen plotter is a piece of hardware that acts like a robotic arm on which you can attach a regular pen.

ItвЂ™s a fantastic machine, and has opened a whole new world of thinking for me. My interest in this began in March 2017, when I purchased my first pen plotter: the AxiDraw V3 by Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. Eventually I plan to experiment with 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC milling, and other ways of realizing my algorithms in the real-world. IвЂ™m interested in the idea of developing real, tangible objects that are no longer bound by the generative systems that shaped them. Over the last several months, IвЂ™ve been looking for ways to produce physical outputs from my generative code.

#Delaunay triangulation script for adobe illustrator code

You can find the source code for this blog series here. DecemPen Plotter Art & Algorithms, Part 1